Businessman Carrim Suliman testifies at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry in Pretoria on 10 March 2026. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu)Suliman Carrim, a businessman with known ANC ties, will now face criminal charges after he repeatedly failed to appear before the Madlanga Commission.
On day 159 of hearings on 14 August 2026, the commission for the first time resolved to lay criminal charges against a witness.
Carrim has cited serious ill health for his failure to testify since March. The commission will now proceed with the evidence he has already given.
The scrutiny does not end there. A proclamation signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday, 11 September authorised a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe into multimillion-rand North West government tenders awarded to companies linked to Carrim.
At the centre is an R168-million contract awarded to a joint venture involving Carrim’s Transnat Coach Lines and Ziggy Investments. The SIU will investigate alleged improper conduct, financial irregularities, undue benefits and possible losses to the state, as well as the joint venture’s financial dealings with the late taxi boss Jotham “King Mswazi” Msibi.
The Madlanga Commission has heard that Msibi was allegedly linked to the Big Five cartel, was involved in the retrieval of stolen stock for tobacco company Carnilinx and a plot to procure spyware technology from a Czech company for use in Eswatini.
Timeline:
Carrim’s long road to witness stand
6 February 2026: Carrim first appeared before the Madlanga Commission. He was questioned about his business dealings and alleged links to figures under investigation.
9-10 March 2026: Carrim returned and began giving more substantive evidence. His testimony was then due to continue later in March.
April 2026: Carrim was reportedly hospitalised after suffering a suspected heart attack at a gym, shortly before he was due back before the commission. His testimony was postponed. He was admitted to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg.
14 April 2026: The commission granted a postponement because of his medical condition. His evidence was subsequently scheduled for 29 April.
29 April 2026: His appearance did not proceed, with further concerns about his medical fitness. This contributed to the repeated postponements of his evidence.
1 June 2026: His testimony was postponed again, this time to 25 June, because of health concerns.
25 June 2026: Carrim again failed to appear, citing a sudden illness. This was described as the third postponement. The evidence leaders became increasingly concerned and asked that the commission consider prosecution if he continued failing to appear. His testimony was postponed to 15 July.
15 July 2026: Carrim again did not testify. The commission heard allegations/questions about his whereabouts after he had been declared medically unfit, including claims that he had been seen at Woolworths. The commission sought further medical evidence and indicated that his doctor could be subpoenaed.
24 July 2026: Carrim’s lawyers brought a further postponement application. His counsel argued that his condition remained ‘dynamic’ and could change, and proposed regular medical updates to the commission. The evidence leaders opposed an indefinite delay.
29 July 2026: The commission ruled on Carrim’s position, tightening the requirement for him to appear and testify.
Carrim-Msibi financial link
The Carrim-Msibi connection is facing further scrutiny, with the SIU examining the financial dealings between the businessman’s joint venture and the late taxi boss, a relationship the Madlanga Commission evidence suggests went beyond a simple flow of money.
On 18 August, evidence leader advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC led WhatsApp messages and other material extracted from Msibi’s cellphone that pointed to a previously unidentified joint venture between Carrim’s Ziggy Investments and Transnational Coaches, linked to subsidised public transport contracts in Gauteng and North West.
/file/attachments/orphans/opinion-nzimande-cartel1_284736.jpg "Katiso “KT” Molefe, Steve Motsumi, Ignatius Mothakathi, Andrew “Boy” Mthethwa, also known as King Nyambose, and the late Jotham “Mswazi” Msibi. (Photo: Madlanga Commission)")
The messages showed Msibi receiving the requirements for a Gauteng government contract for subsidised road-based public transport and subsequently sent details of Themy Styles, his company, as the entity apparently proposed for subcontracting.
The financial trail included a R700,000 payment to the South African National Taxi Council, R1-million paid into Tucofin, a company in which Msibi was a director, and a further R300,000 recorded as outstanding from North West entities.
Chaskalson told the commission that the Carrim-Msibi connection had not previously been identified by investigators. Its significance lies in the apparent intersection between Msibi’s business interests and Carrim-linked companies involved in subsidised public transport contracts. The commission has made no finding of wrongdoing arising from the payments or the joint venture, and the evidence remains untested.
Missing records, web of dealings
The questions surrounding Carrim’s financial affairs, however, predate the newly surfaced Msibi evidence.
Earlier in July, Chaskalson told the inquiry that financial statements and other records for Carrim-linked companies Ziggy, Tasmika and Tamiez remained outstanding, despite the companies having received millions of rands from the state. The missing records add further questions about Carrim’s businesses and the movement of public money through them.
Chaskalson also challenged the extent to which Carrim’s claimed ill health prevented him from complying with the commission’s requests. His argument was that, even if Carrim was medically unable to testify, there was no indication in the medical documentation that he was incapable of communicating with his offices and instructing them to provide the outstanding financial records.
That unresolved financial picture now takes on added significance as the SIU turns its attention to the R168-million North West transport contract involving Carrim-linked Transnat Coach Lines and Ziggy Investments, while the Madlanga Commission has separately uncovered evidence pointing to a previously unidentified Carrim-linked transport venture involving Msibi.
Carrim’s links to Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, tender tycoon Morgan Maumela and North West businessman Brown Mogotsi expose a web of business dealings that the commission is examining.
When Carrim testified on 9 March, he acknowledged business dealings and relationships with not only alleged crime boss Matlala, and Mogotsi, but also Maumela.
Maumela has himself come under investigation by the SIU over allegations surrounding the R2-billion Tembisa Hospital procurement scandal. The late whistleblower Babita Deokaran was investigating suspicious hospital tenders before she was murdered in August 2021.
But it was evidence from Matlala in August that added further insight into Carrim’s relationship with late taxi boss Msibi.
Matlala, on the other hand, told the commission on Monday, 17 August 2026, that he became close to Carrim because they both visited Msibi.
Some police officers have alleged that ahead of his death in 2024, Msibi was the head of the Big Five cartel, which they have said is involved in criminality ranging from illicit drugs to cash-in-transit heists, and which has infiltrated the state, politics and private sector.
Matlala also testified that he secured a R15-million loan from Carrim. This Carrim denied, saying he didn’t receive kickbacks and that his R10-million payment to Matlala was an investment.
Then there is Maumela, another strand in the web of relationships emerging from the commission’s evidence. It had earlier heard evidence about Carrim’s dealings with tender businessman Maumela. Matlala’s own connections to Maumela have also come under scrutiny.
Carrim testified that Matlala asked him in March 2025 to pay R750,000 to Maumela, despite still owing Carrim R10-million.
Carrim said he refused to pay the full amount, but agreed to pay R500,000, which was sent to Luthagha Trading Enterprise, an entity linked to Maumela’s sister, after Maumela asserted control over the account.
News24 has also reported that Matlala met former police minister Bheki Cele at Maumela’s Zimbali Estate on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast in March 2025.
Cast of characters
Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala: Has business ties to the security and health sector, but is now facing several criminal charges and accusations he is a member of the Big Five cartel and has corrupt relationships with certain police officers.
Jothan Msibi: One of the country’s foremost taxi bosses who allegedly headed the Big Five cartel before he died in 2024.
Suliman Carrim: An ANC-linked businessman from North West whose connections and companies have come under scrutiny. He lent money to Matlala who said Carrim, like him, used to visit Msibi.
Carrim is now under scrutiny on two fronts: the Madlanga Commission, over alleged corruption in the criminal justice system, and the SIU over lucrative state transport contracts and the movement of money.
The probe also includes North West Transport Investment, now under business rescue. If wrongdoing is established, the SIU could pursue asset recovery or forfeiture.
DM
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